ReMix:Super Mario World "Forrest of Illusion" 3:55

By Forrest Fire

Arranging the music of one song...

"Map 5 (Forest of Illusion)"

Primary Game: Super Mario World (Nintendo , 1990, SNES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2013-05-15, evaluated by the judges panel


Insert mandatory "it's dubstep, btw..." warning here ;) I must say, when posting a mix titled "Forrest of Illusion" by a mixer named "Forrest Fire," one does experience some initial hesitation even before listening. Could this nom de punnery be the high point - is it all downhill from here? It also conjures up alternative incarnations - how about a Canabalt mix named "Run, Forrest, Run!!"? But thankfully newcomer Forrest Shamlian rocks more than just a homophone, dealing some menacing, FX-laden dubstep with the mix title chanted hypnotically. He writes:

"Forrest of Illusion was a track I made for J1 Studios' Mario Dubstep album, "Green Mushrooms and Super Stars". As a youngster, my family would spend a week in the summer at my uncle's beach house in NJ. Aside from playing on the beach and getting ice cream, the activity I would look forward to most was spending the week trying to beat every single level in SMW (including special world ;] ) on their super nintendo set up in the corner of the dark little basement on a tiny Zenith TV. It felt so awesome and retro. I remember being up late and particularly creeped out when I got mario to the Forest of Illusion."

Nice gamer memory; you can tell that being creeped out stuck with him, and I think I can safely he say he was able to translate that feeling from his past into some ominous, disturbing electronica here in the present. Judges were unanimous in their appreciation for FF's ability to stretch out the relatively brief source into a complete piece that develops & gets even more insidious as it progresses. halc writes:

"ooh, trippy. really liking the percussion in the intro, some really nice rhythms. some aspects of the production as well as some of those raunchy bass synths could have been a little cleaner, but I can't overstate how awesome this song is at times. those drops that implement the sfx as part of the dubstep groove are so creative and awesome. great mileage out of a limited source. nice stuff here, looking forward to more."

Nutritious adds:

"Gotta agree with halc & will: tons of creative part writing here. Lots of synth variety and changeups to keep things interesting. There was quite a bit of in-game sfx here, but again, it was used in a very creative way that fit into the flow the track, so I have no problems with it."

The usage of FX here feels distinct; I've heard it done this way before, but some aspect of the processing, rhythms, and perhaps the integration of the repeated spoken phrase all struck me as combining to achieve a unique & specific effect. We're a long ways from October, but I could see this being a great Halloween track - with the disquieting pauses between soft & loud and the unexpected textures at every turn, it's rather like a haunted house itself. Great debut from Forrest Fire - looking forward to hearing more & in the meantime be sure to check out the album!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 9 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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YoshiBlade
on 2015-12-02 23:13:18

Forrest Fire lives up to his name producing hot tracks that tend to burn their own paths, embrace the heat or fight this blaze as this track is sure to inspire a flame war, as to it's place in on the OCR. Clever use of samples and the embrace of more frantic sonic elements all combine to to stretch a :40 track into something more than its individual parts. Confused? Good, if the original track was titled the Forrest of Actuality, I might agree with you that this remix doesn't embrace the theme of the source material, however that not the case here...

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Jragyn
on 2013-05-19 23:54:55

I have to say, this song definitely accomplishes the effect of disturbing the listener. Using cheerful SFX in combination with the almost-dub sound/bass/theming worked out incredibly well, much like it did in Dark Reaches of SMW.

I don't want to call the vocals really, because there wasn't much there, but the voice in the song fit the mood and fit the tunes.

I appreciate this.

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sylverfyre
on 2013-05-17 18:52:40

This track only had to do one thing to win me over: creep me out.

I'm going to go hide under my bed now.

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Rockos
on 2013-05-17 17:09:35

Awesome stuff. I'm a fan of this stuff. It's always surprising to hear how good a track could be. The sfx and the synth have a 'something' dark side while retaining the feel of the forest. I'm at job right now but I'm already hyped to hear it on my SYSTEM at home.

The only small thing I heard is some synth are loud compared to other. But this is not a big flaw. Plus I'm not in my listening environnement. I may edit this part ;)

Great stuff. Please share moaare !

Edit: I just heard the lyrics now that I'm home. It says forest of illusion ;)

Why not.

The varitation in the lead makes it appealing.

Starcraft WHY!? :P

I love the way the sfx were used.

I still think some synth are overpowered. But it doesn't matter too much since it's not all the way and not that significant.

So after my second listen I can say PURE AWESOMENESS.

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bluestreaks
on 2013-05-16 17:29:27

I like it! You kept it nice and interesting. Could always be dirtier and harder!

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urdailywater
on 2013-05-16 13:27:34

Cool debut. This one is pretty tounge and cheek and I like it for that. Hard not to smile when you hear the game effects come in but I did think maybe the forest of illusion soundclip was a little too cheesy. For some reason I thought this would end up being something based off the Forrest Gump soundtrack but this doesn't disappoint :)

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Crulex
on 2013-05-16 12:43:45

At first, I wasn't sold, but after it got going I liked it. The sfx, the off-kilter chants and voice clips, and the overall creepy haunted house-like quality of it was great, especially in the areas where it sounded a little more metallic or industrial. Some things I liked, other things not so much, but end of the day, I thought it was a good debut.

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timaeus222
on 2013-05-15 20:39:45

Well, I don't like it, but I don't hate it either. Some minor issues with the bass production, but hey, sounds good otherwise for dubstep fans.

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djpretzel
on 2013-05-15 16:53:44

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Mario World (Nintendo , 1990, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Map 5 (Forest of Illusion)"

Tags (8)


Genre:
Dubstep
Mood:
Aggressive,Spooky
Instrumentation:
Electronic,In-game FX,Synth,Vocals: Voice Acting
Additional:
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original

File Information


Name:
Super_Mario_World_Forrest_of_Illusion_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,772,837 bytes
MD5:
e6d50d197984b439cbcb36db1dceca11
Bitrate:
227Kbps
Duration:
3:55

[Chorus]
In the Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion
In the Forest of Illusion
In the Forest of Illusion
In the Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion
In the Forest of Illusion

Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion
In the Forest of Illusion

In the Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion
In the Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion

Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion
Forest of Illusion

[Chorus]

In the...

[Chorus]

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